


Before and After

by Star55



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Girl Direction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 03:48:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21191048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Star55/pseuds/Star55
Summary: Before everything was messy and complicated and filled with love for all of the wrong people.





	Before and After

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to [Mar](https://larryscurves.tumblr.com) for the constant support and cheerleading. Words will never express just how much I love and adore you. ♥

Niall falls in love easily.

She’s been in love eight times in her life. It’s probably closer to sixteen if she counts the boyfriends and girlfriends she had in both primary and secondary school. And who’s to say that she _wasn’t_ in love with all of them? 

She falls easy – fast and hard, and so head over heels that it’s hard not to end up with her heart broken at times.

Her last partner was an incredible woman called Iris, and they spent four years blissfully happy together. Or, at least, _Niall_ thought they were blissfully happy, but it turns out that Iris decided that Niall couldn’t give her what she wanted, so they broke up. Two weeks before Niall’s birthday. That was a fun time.

Before Iris, there was Saajid. They had an intense six months together while Niall was in France, but he didn’t want to move to London, and she didn’t want to stay in France after her work contract was up. So they split. It probably could have worked if either of them had wanted to do a long distance relationship, but neither of them had.

There were others, too, of course, but that’s all _before_.

Before Niall fell in love with a girl’s laugh from across her local pub where she was sitting with someone who happened to be _the loudest person ever_. If Niall hadn’t seen Loud Mouth heatedly snog Curly Hair and Dimples, then she would’ve thought that Beautiful Laugh was taken. As it was, it was hard to tell. Because they sometimes have a fourth friend join them – Miss Arms For Days, as Niall has taken to calling her in her head. They were a strange group, Niall mused, but they oddly fit _perfectly_ together.

But for now, Niall is definitely feeling the tingles of _love_ whenever she looks in Beautiful Laugh’s direction.

Which is, of course, when some other gorgeous, freckled girl joins that group and kisses Beautiful Laugh smack on the lips. Loud Mouth laughs, because that’s what she always does, but then Curly Hair and Dimples pokes at Freckles’ shoulder until she’s sitting down at the table.

Niall has to look away.

She sips at her Guinness, hoping that the sweet nectar will keep her company on this lonely night.

She’s frankly quite done with the pub scene, but she also loves her local, and she knows Fran by name, and, not that she wants to really admit it, she’s been coming to this pub since she and Iris were together. At least she got to keep the pub in their break up. 

Considering Iris moved away, it was a given, but Niall likes to think that she got to keep coming to their pub because she was passionate about it.

“Another, love?” Fran asks, turning her kind eyes on Niall. Niall looks down at her empty glass and nods.

“Thanks, Fran,” Niall replies. 

Moments later, a full glass is set down in front of her. 

“Go say hello,” Fran says knowingly. Her gaze goes to the group of girls, who have, surprisingly, been joined by a guy, who has Freckles sitting on his lap. She’s not sure what that whole kiss thing was about if Freckles is with a guy.

“Nah, not ready,” Niall replies. She takes a long sip of her drink, to occupy both her mouth and her mind. Fran clicks her tongue and then wanders away.

Niall grabs her phone from her pocket, wondering just how sad it would be for her to go home at nine o’clock on a Friday night. She bites back a sigh. She isn’t _sad_ exactly. Well, she is a little, but that’s because she somehow is alone at a pub on a Friday night when she’s usually doing things with friends. But tonight she’s alone. 

“Hey.”

Niall looks up. Beautiful Laugh is standing not two feet away from her. “Hi,” she says politely. 

“Would you like to come and sit with us?”

Niall blinks. She looks past Beautiful Laugh to where the table of her friends is _suspiciously_ silent. Her gaze slides back to Beautiful Laugh.

Before she can open her mouth, Beautiful Laugh speaks again. “Sorry. I’m Zayn. We… Uh, well, we noticed that you’re alone. And you look a little sad…”

“Christ,” Niall mumbles, her cheeks heating up with embarrassment.

“Oh! I’m sorry. I didn’t… I’m sorry… I’ve offended you.”

Niall shakes her head. She slides off her stool and stands. “I’m Niall, it’s lovely to meet you,” she finally says because her mum didn’t raise her to be impolite. “Yes, I’ll come join you.”

She has a feeling that Fran is somehow behind this, but when she tries to catch Fran’s gaze on her way over to the table Zayn and her friends are occupying, Fran is suspiciously nowhere to be seen.

“Everyone, this is Niall,” Zayn says as they approach the table. She pulls out a chair for Niall to sit at, which is really sweet of her, Niall thinks. And is making her fall more in love, if she’s honest.

A round of ‘hey’ from the table greets her as she sits.

“Niall, these are my friends,” Zayn begins, starting on Niall’s left. She points to everyone as she introduces them. “That’s Gemma, Michael, Liam, Harry and Louis.”

Niall nods awkwardly.

“It’s good to meet you,” Louis, the loud one, says. “We’ve been coming here for a while now and you’re always alone. Why’s that?”

“_Lou_!” the Dimpled One, Harry, says, clapping her hand over Louis’ mouth. “Don’t be rude.”

“Don’t mind them,” Gemma pipes up. “How are you, Niall? What are you drinking, I’m about to get another round.”

“Erm, thanks,” Niall says. “I’ll have a Guinness.”

“So the Irish stereotype rings true, then?” Michael asks. 

Niall nods. “For this Irish, it definitely does,” she replies with a small smile. She fiddles with a coaster on the table and tries not to shrink under everyone’s stares.

Thankfully, Louis decides to change the topic. “I hope you’re not homophobic, mate,” she says. “Because literally all of us are queer as fuck.”

Niall shakes her head, smiling. “Not at all, I’m bisexual myself.”

“You’re in good company, then!” Louis exclaims, a happy smile on her face. Niall feels like she’s passed some sort of test she didn’t know she was having.

“I need to pee,” Harry says, standing up.

“Thank you for sharing that absolutely _vital_ piece of information, Hazza,” Louis teases. Harry rolls her eyes but leans down and kisses Louis soundly on the lips anyway. They’re kind of cute, Niall thinks.

Gemma returns moments later with drinks, and Niall’s third Guinness of the night is placed in front of her. She licks her lips and picks up the pint to take a drink.

“So, what do you do?” Zayn asks softly once everyone’s drinks have been distributed. Louis is in some heated discussion with Gemma about something, and Liam and Michael are talking about football. Normally Niall would join any conversation about football, but she’s new to these people and her passion could be a bit overwhelming to deal with.

“I’m an interior designer,” Niall replies, setting her pint glass down. “What about you?”

“English teacher,” she says with a soft smile. “Louis, Liam, Michael and I all work together.”

Niall nods. “And the other two?”

“Gemma and Harry are sisters, and Harry is married to Louis, so that’s how we’ve all come together,” Zayn explains. “Harry introduced Gemma and Michael, and she never shuts up about it. Everyone here is pretty obnoxious.”

“Speak for yourself, Zaynie!” Louis pipes up. “I’m a _delight_.”

This causes everyone to laugh. Niall just smiles. Harry joins them again a moment later, a put out look on her face, probably from being left out of their laughing.

As the night goes on, Zayn and Niall turn to face each other a little more, having their own private conversation. Well, as private as they can in such close quarters to five other people. 

Zayn tells stories of the secondary school she works at, and the things that her students don’t think she sees, but she absolutely does. 

“There’s something I’ve always wanted to know,” Niall says. Her knee brushes against Zayn’s under the table. She notices that Zayn doesn’t move hers away. “Do any teachers hope that certain students will get together? Because you guys must see _everything_, right?”

Zayn’s lips quirk up in a smile. A smile that Niall is rapidly growing to love. Along with her beautiful laugh, it’s making Niall melt. “Sometimes, yeah,” she replies. “I’ve been pairing these two girls together in my class whenever I can get away with it because they would be so cute together.”

Niall grins. “That’s the cutest shit ever,” she says, picking up her pint. It’s only when she brings it to her mouth to have a sip, but realises that it’s all gone.

“Would you like another?” Zayn asks, nodding to the empty glass.

“I’d better not,” Niall replies. “That was my fourth. I’ve still got to walk home yet.”

Zayn nods. She finishes off her own drink and sets the empty glass back down next to Niall’s. “I know this is incredibly forward of me, but would you like to go on a date?”

Niall blinks, a deer caught in headlights.

“Oh,” Zayn says sadly. “I’m… I didn’t…”

“I’d love to!” Niall exclaims a little louder than she intends to. The others all look at them. A knowing smirk crosses Louis’ lips. “I’d love to,” she repeats at a more acceptable volume.

“Alright, gays,” Louis says loudly, interrupting everything. “I’m taking the wife home now. The twins have footie in the morning and I don’t feel like getting the third degree from our six year olds if we’re late to pick them up.”

Niall can’t help the snort that comes from her. 

“It was nice meeting you, Niall,” Harry says warmly. She pats Niall’s shoulder, and then takes Louis’ hand in her own, leaving the pub.

After that, everyone else decides that it’s time they were getting home, too, and they all make their way outside. Liam, Gemma, and Michael all wander off after saying goodbye, leaving Zayn and Niall alone in the chilly autumn night air. 

“Can I get your number, then?” Zayn asks once they’ve figured out that they both are eager to go on a date with each other. 

“Shit, yeah, of course,” Niall replies. They exchange numbers and Niall feels her heart skip a beat in her chest at the fact that she has a _date_ with this beautiful woman. _Tomorrow_.

They both order Ubers and stand together, waiting. Zayn’s Uber gets there first, and she gives Niall a lingering look before she presses their lips together in a chaste kiss. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she breathes.

Niall smiles. “Looking forward to it,” she replies. Zayn gives her a small wave before she gets into the car, and it drives off.

Her own Uber arrives moments later, and Niall gets into it, replaying the kiss over in her head. She can’t wait to do that again. 

Before everything was messy and complicated and filled with love for all of the wrong people. Now she has a date Zayn, Niall is looking forward to after.

**Author's Note:**

> hi again. if you've got this far, i hope you enjoyed this fic. ♥  
please leave me a comment if you liked it. i love comments so very much a lot. ♥  
criticism, constructive or not, is not welcome.
> 
> rebloggable post on my [tumblr](https://star55.tumblr.com/post/188617866921)


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